When Barack Obama first met Katrina vanden Heuvel of The Nation magazine, he
said, "Remember, the perfect is the enemy of the good." So in a week when the
conversation is rising about what the left should properly do when the presumptive
nominee appears to emphasize his moderate side, I'd like to excerpt at greater length
than usual in our weekly 7 Days in America blog an interesting conversation about
this with John Kerry -- it's always instructive when the '04 Democratic nominee
analyzes the '08 Democratic nominee -- and with the ubiquitous two leading ladies of
the left, Arianna and Katrina.

Three points first.

*The two most successful Democratic politicians on the past century, the only two to
win the presidency more than once, were renowned for their ability to keep options
open with strategic ambiguity. FDR and Bill Clinton often infuriated their supporters
and staff. But they figured out how to win and govern in a country more to the right
than our European parents.